Theranostics, 21 February, 2022, DOI：https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.66663

Ferroptotic stress promotes macrophages against intracellular bacteria

Ruonan Ma, Ling Fang, Lei Chen, Xiaonan Wang, Jing Jiang, Lizeng Gao*

Abstract

Rational: Intracellular bacterial survival is a major factor causing chronic or recurrent infection, leading to the failure of both host defense and/or antibiotic treatment. However, the elimination of intracellular bacteria is challenging as they are protected from antibiotics and host immune attack. Recent studies have indicated that iron helps macrophages against intracellular bacteria, contradictory to traditional “nutritional immunity”, in which iron is considered a key nutrient for bacterial survival in host cells. However, how iron facilitates intracellular bacterial death has not been fully clarified. In this study, we found that ferroptotic stress can help macrophages suppress intracellular bacteria by reversing the importation of ferrous iron into bacterial vacuoles via ferroportin and thereby inducing in situ ferroptosis-like bacterial death.

Article link：https://www.thno.org/v12p2266.htm